During the month of October, I traveled to ten major cities across Southeast and Northeast Asia as I represented Oregon State University at a series of university fairs. While my stay in each location was very brief, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with a great number of enthusiastic and inquisitive students, their parents and school counselors and several wonderful OSU alumni along the way.
With sometimes only a 48 hour stay in each city, it was challenging to find time to experience the local culture, but highlights include the many festivals being celebrated in the month of October…such as the Autumn Harvest festival, the observance of Ramadan and Eid Fitr, and preparations for the celebration of Deepavali.
In Kuala Lumpur, Dr. Chris Bell, Associate Dean in the College of Engineering, returning from his three city student recruitment tour in India, joined me at a university fair along with OSU alumnus Yunus. Together we spoke to a number of interested prospective students about OSU’s academic programs, the campus and the surrounding environment. How nice it is to show photos of Corvallis during this time of year (October) when the autumn leaves perfectly match our school colors…lot’s of orange, indeed!
In addition to the university fairs that were open to the general public, I visited a number of International and American high schools, two year colleges and an occasional advising center, where students can gain information about all types of educational opportunities that exist in the U.S., including those at OSU.
While a variety of information can be shared through one on one conversations, large group presentations and publications, describing everything that Oregon State University offers to a prospective student is virtually impossible. Fortunately, with the abundance of links to specific departments and programs, one can easily explore further how OSU can be an excellent choice to consider whether it be for a bachelor’s, master’s or Phd.
I’d like to extend my very sincere thanks to the following OSU alumni who shared their time and experiences with prospective students during this past month. Sampath in Chennai, Harish and Judy in Singapore, Yunus in Kuala Lumpur, Worawas in Bangkok, Siswanto and Belinda in Jakarta, Dr. Lee in Seoul, and Katsuya in Tokyo!
At least one prospective student from Japan will be applying for admission into OSU’s College Student Services Administration (CSSA) program. They found my masters portfolio and then met with Julie in Tokyo.
The CSSA program allows students to create portfolios which serve as academic capstone projects. Online portfolios have the potential to reach students all over the world.
My “blogfolio” is an educational resource as well as an informal recruitment site for prospective CSSA students.
I have never heard of such a meeting in China.
Did they advertise this on the country you visited? I didn’t hear about it in Kuala Lumpur.